


Of Gold & Something More

by TeaAndATale



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Ice Dancers AU, Olympics, Steggy - Freeform, Steggy Week 2018
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-12 17:06:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15344478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeaAndATale/pseuds/TeaAndATale
Summary: They’ve been working their entire lives for those seven total minutes on the ice on the world’s biggest stage. But with Steve and Peggy it’s never been just been about the gold.Steggy Week 2018 - Day 3 (Wednesday): AUs and Crossovers -  Steggy Olympic Ice Dancers AU





	Of Gold & Something More

**Author's Note:**

> Steggy Week 2018 - Day 3 
> 
> Let’s call this a preview version of the first chapter of a longer fic I am working on that is nowhere near where I’d like it to be, but it’s been so fun to write and I wanted to share for Steggy Week 2018 even if it's a rough snippet to tease a fic to come. It may (and probably will) change. You need to know nothing about Ice Dance, however, if you’ve seen my tumblr, or are familiar with the sport, then yes you’ll notice it is strongly inspired by a certain partnership. 
> 
> Shoutout to @dorrinverrakai1 & @geekynerddemon for late night pep talks & support while I waxed on ad nauseam about figure skating. You two are MVPs.

 

_Chapter One – The Show Must Go On_

 

**February 9th, 2018 PyeongChang, South Korea**

 

Steve leans against the wall watching the mess of a party with amusement. The USA House is always crazy during the Olympics, even from the first night, no matter who had events early the following morning. This year was no different. Particularly after a Friday night Olympic Ceremony. It was flooded with athletes, several members of the media, and oddly enough large numbers of Scandinavian athletes. Most of them were men seeking their luck at drawing the attention of one of the year’s record number of female athletes, seemingly drawn to the significant number of young skiers and snowboarders. He couldn’t help but be amused by the culture clash, of the neat cut of European fashion next to the horribly tacky fringed American outfits.

 

“Why is it that the Canadians always look better than us?” Peggy had complained to him in the pit of the stadium earlier that evening while they awaited their entrance.

“What are you trying to say, tan fringed suede gloves aren’t a subtle and elegant look for me?”

She groaned quietly. “They’re horrible. We are going to conveniently misplace them after tonight and never have to wear them again,” she whispered conspiratorially, smiling pleasantly at the cameras pointed their way.

“Don’t be so harsh. We’ve worn worse. Sochi was way worse,” he replied with a grin.

She groaned again. “Sochi was way worse. Those jackets…”

“See? You won’t even be cold this year since they’re heated.”

“Alright that part is cool,” she admitted reluctantly. “It’s not like you have anything to complain about. Tacky patriotic knitted sweaters somehow work for you. I however look like I got dressed in the dark.

Steve slipped an offending glove off and tucked a long curl of her hair neatly into her hat. “I think you look great in everything Peg.”

He watched her try hard to frown but between his gaze and the excitement, the smile won out. They moved in closer until their shoulders touched.

“Apart from the fashion faux pas, how are you feeling?” he asked her quietly as they waited.

She turned to him, her expression serious. “Really good. I… We’re finally here Steve.”

“I keep thinking that too. It doesn’t seem real yet. It hasn’t hit me yet that we’re minutes away from carrying the flag in together. It feels like it’s our first Olympics.”

Peggy laughed. “I had that same feeling right when we got off the bus. You’d think we’d be used to this by now.”

He shook his head. “We’re different. It’s different. And we both can feel it. I’m so happy to be here with you.”

 

Hours after the Ceremony, after the genuine child-like grinning that strained their cheeks through the parade of nations, it all still seemed surreal and dreamlike to Steve.

He was tired between the training schedule, Olympic preparations and jet lag, but the Opening Ceremony had pumped him full of adrenaline that was refusing to fade. He had a feeling this was a sign of things to come, of emotions to come. There were great previous Olympic memories in his past, but Steve couldn’t help feeling the palpable difference already.

This year was going to be more, he thought, grinning as he watched the teeming crowd of athletes around him.

A woman with long blonde hair and a blue jacket sidled up the him against the wall, smiling a little too widely.

“Hello,” she said.

“Hi there,” he greeted politely.

He turned his gaze back to the crowd he’d been observing, back to where in the mishmash of gaudy red, white and blue gear, back to where the two dominate groups, the beer pong contingent and the karaoke belters, were attempting to merge parties. The woman beside him quirked her lip, licking at them as she eyed him up and down.

“Hockey player?” she guessed confidently.

His lip curled in amusement. It’s not the first time he’s heard that guess, not by a long shot. But it’s been a long while. These days that guess has been reserved to strangers when they found out he was participating in the Winter Olympics. Once upon a time nothing would have made him happier, a nascent boyhood dream of winning the Stanley Cup then doing victory laps at the Winter Olympics, just for the fun of it he would say in his victory interviews.

He fought a snort at the memory. He hadn’t thought about that in decades. Steve had never been happier that his path led him here the way it did. Oh, if only his eight-year-old self could see the incredible gifts life would bring him.

“Figure skater,” he corrected.

“Oh,” she said in genuine surprise. She looked him over once again with intent, her sharp gaze making him vaguely uncomfortable. Steve craned his neck, eyes scanning through the crowd. “Really? You? Are you sure?”

Steve’s unconscious grin was full of pride. “Sure am. It’s been twenty years. These are our third games.”

“Our?”

“My partner and I. We’re ice dancers.”

The blonde took in this new information and her immediate disappointment in not having stumbled upon a hotshot hockey player to chat up seemed to disappear just as quickly. Her expression returned to its initial saccharine smile.

“Figure skater you say? I bet you know exactly how to touch a woman.” She slid closer until her shoulder bumped his. “Where’s your drink? Let’s go get something stronger at the bar.”

“No thank you. We won’t be here much longer.”

Before she could protest or question the _we_ , Peggy was there, shoving a cup into his hand.

“Here. Shirley Temple on the rocks.”

He snorted. “Oh Peg, you know it’s the sugar that kills more than the actual alcohol,” he teased before taking a long drink.

Peggy huffed at him with a friendly roll of the eyes. “Enjoy it, that’s all we’re getting for the next eleven days.”

“What’d you get?” he asked peering into her cup.

“Tequila Sunrise. Minus the tequila.”

He snorted again. “Plain ol’ Sunrise huh? Already anticipating the one we’ll be staring down before we know it?”

She sipped and nodded. “Oh we’ll be up before the sun decides to make an appearance. Don’t forget, we need to stick to the schedule to keep our body clocks on track. And we need to take advantage of tomorrow’s off day so that we start competition day right.”

“Roger that, partner. I will meet you dark and early as planned.”

She finally took notice of the now annoyed blonde at his other side. “Sorry. Hello there. Sweden?” she guessed from the woman’s outfit. “Oh let me guess. Skier?”

The woman nodded, taking Peggy in with an odd expression that Steve noticed she was oblivious to or ignoring. Definitely ignoring, he decided.

“Cross-country,” the woman clarified.

“I thought so!” she said looked to Steve to share a happy grin at her accurate guess. He couldn’t help but grin back at her. _Know-it-all,_ he wanted to tease her, maybe while also tugging her against his side. Peggy pointed between the two of them. “Ice Dancers.”

“I already said that,” Steve teased, fishing one of the three maraschino cherries Peggy got for him out of his drink and popped it into his mouth.

Peggy shrugged. “Alright, one more obligatory lap, then we’ll check on Wilson and then bedtime,” she recounted as Steve dutifully nodded. “Tell me again why we decided to stay for this?”

He laughed and nudged her a little closer. “Because you said we needed to take the Team Captains role very seriously. And something about leading the country into the first night of drunkenness and debauchery.”

“I said no such thing!”

“I read between the lines,” he teased. “We’re here because we’re trying to remain present. Remember? That means taking it all in. Even the off the ice parts.”

She nodded seriously. “Yes, you’re right. Staying present.”

Steve held her gaze, and they stood there quiet for a long moment, eyes fixed, instinctually slowing their breathing to synchronicity. Then after a moment by unspoken agreement, they nodded to each other. Steve knew she was ready head into the thick of the festivities.

“Wait. What about Nat?” he asked suddenly. “Shouldn’t we be checking on her too?”

Peggy snorted. “She’s arm wrestling every already drunk athlete that’s tried to hit on her. She can hold her own. Besides, she promised she’d keep Wilson out of trouble for us.”

Steve grinned at her. “You do realize Sam deserves to celebrate his strong start, today right? He landed all his triples. And this is his last pre-retirement hurrah.”

Peggy rolled her eyes. “And as I explained to him before we even landed in Korea, that if he was going to be your roommate again, that he was not allowed to interfere with our training. This includes but is not limited to waking you up because he decides to drink too much and forgets how a bed works, wanting to start a bubble bath hot tub party at three in the morning, or waxing poetic about how soft the blankets are.”

Steve laughed so hard he nearly spit out some of his Shirley Temple. “Nat has a full day of training tomorrow too you know.”

“Natasha isn’t the one playing beer pong right now.”

“Alright, alright. Fair. Let’s go check on Sam.”

She pressed her hand to the crook of his arm before turning to realize that the Swedish skier was still standing there staring at them with an odd expression.

“Nice to meet you Sweden. Good luck in the games,” she told her with a smile. Their hands met instinctively and they walked off into the party hand-in-hand. “We should try harder to not scare off our fellow Olympic athletes,” she said once they were out of earshot “We’re setting a terrible example.”

Steve snorted.

“What?” she demanded.

“You say that like you didn’t come over with the exact purpose of scaring her off.”

Peggy stared into her cup and shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Uh huh,” he replied with a sly smile, squeezing their laced hands.

She scoffed. “Oh shove it Steve. Like you weren’t displaying classic ‘come save me’ cues.”

“Whatever you say, partner.”

He only grinned wider at her frown.

“Seriously Steve. I was only showing partner support. There was no need to scare her off. There was nothing to worry about.”

No. This time there was nothing to worry about. Nothing worth worrying about. Not when they had each other.

“Yo, bearer of flags and patriotism come lead us in the festivities,” Sam shouted at them from his spot behind one end of the makeshift beer pong table.

“Personally, I like the sound of Mister and Missus Captain America,” Natasha said from his side.

Peggy shot Steve an annoyed look.

“What? I didn’t come up with that!” He raised his arms instinctively in defense.

Peggy only turned the disapproving frown that scared the wits out of most people toward Natasha.

“I thought you weren’t joining in this juvenile behavior.”

Natasha shrugged. “It’s fun to make these macho dudes cry.” Steve snorted and even Peggy’s frown faded. “Don’t worry, it’s getting too easy which means it’s almost time for me to call it a night. Go. Wilson wouldn’t dare risk a chance of me embarrassing him in front of potential hotties.”

Sam, who was either more tipsy then he seemed, or just riding the joyous energy of launching Team USA into first place in the team event following his short program, pulled Natasha in for a hug before pressing a smacking kiss to her cheek to her utter mortification.

“I’ll miss these moments Romanov,” he grinned as she glowered at him, her face oddly red.

Steve’s heart swelled at the sound of Peggy’s easy laugh, and the subtle way she turned into him, her head just brushing against his arm. Thousands of miles away, but somehow Steve felt at home in this moment.

Peggy let him lead her through their rounds, chatting with their fellow Team USA athletes and posing for pictures with fans from other countries that managed to get invites to USA House. They even agreed to one short interview with a familiar New York based journalist. Through it all Steve couldn’t help but reflect on the twenty years prior that led him and Peggy to this very moment.

Sure there was immense pressure, and an equal amount of nerves. But when Peggy’s eyes met his, just as it did when they were on the ice, that all faded away. Every single success, struggle and failure they weathered through, it was proof enough for them both that they were here, and this was their moment, together. This was for them.

 

_“Peggy Carter and Steve Rogers are not only Ice Dance superstars, but were named the Winter Olympic Flag Bearers, a first in American history for a pair to lead the country’s finest athletes into the Games. It’s a refreshing call for equality in a particularly divisive period in American history. How does it feel to finally be here, having led in Team USA?”_

_“We’re thrilled. It was such an honor to represent all the wonderfully talented athletes across our country. It still feels like a dream,” Steve answered._

_“We’re honored to have been chosen from this incredible group of talented athletes. We hope our partnership leading in our teammates is only the start in representing and lifting up our nation’s diversity with pride, from our record number of women, to our LGBTQA teammates, and of course our incredible Paralympic athletes. We’re so proud to be here striving for excellence among them,” said Peggy._

_“Now that the Games are officially under way what are the emotions you’re experiencing? Your fans and most of America know of course that of course these are your third Games.”_

_“We’re excited of course, and there are definitely nerves and butterflies. But we’re exactly where we want to be, where we hoped to be when we set out on this goal we’ve been striving for these past two years,” Peggy had said with a genuine smile._

_“Speaking of these past two years, this resurgence in your career has been spectacular to watch by all skating fans. Does it still feel like finding that love of figure skating was key to your success Steve?”_

_“Of course. We fell in love with the sport again. We fell in love with each—” His heart pounded, and he course corrected. “With the process. We loved the journey. And skating together of course. But I think they key for me regarding success and my path as an athlete, is that it was never about finding skating. It was about finding Peggy.”_

 

As he walked her to her room, one floor up from his, he mused upon that part of the interview. It hadn’t been about finding figure skating. Not in twenty years. It would have been nothing without Peggy.

In the starkly quiet hallway, he pulled her into his arms, stooping so her chin would reach his shoulder with ease. He cupped her neck in his palm and ran the other down her cheek. When he crawled into his own twin bed, he was full of butterflies, none having to do with the competition.

This time, after all those years of work and worry and pain under their belts, this time was different. It was more. And they were ready.


End file.
